OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Symbolic Frame Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the symbolic frame
2. Apply the symbolic frame to your personal case situation

Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other
course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and
format for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

The organization New Age Homes is currently in between investor funding rounds and
barely surviving on a limited budget. The two major divisions, research and development,
and field production, are competing for resources as both contribute to company success
and are deemed essential. Without research and development there is no more innovation,
inventing, patents, and startup investor attraction. Without field production there is no
feedback for development, secondary income source, or in-use product to show investors
and or gain new production contracts. The company cannot continue to support both
fully, and it also cannot afford to lose one or the other. Currently both are fighting for the
bulk of the resources, splitting manning, and blaming the other for lack of success. My
role is robotics operator, I control the machines in the field division and contribute to the
project of home building.

2) Describe how the symbols of the organization influenced the situation.

An organization's symbols can include the common language used amongst workers, the
ceremonies and rituals performed, top leaders, the way people dress, and even structured
daily routines. At New Age Homes, many symbolic changes affected the overall
performance of the organization and ultimately contributed to the current drastic
situation. The company was originally founded by three individuals. A successful
business starter with venture capital connections, a tech giant who was a key player in
several tech startups, and a successful operations and logistics manager. Each person
brought vast and varied experience to the team and the group, we felt as if we had the
trifecta of upper leadership. Over time relationships at the top fell through, and animosity
grew each day between the co-founders as a result of being split on decision-making and
the direction of the company. This breakdown of cohesiveness spilled over to the middle
managers, supervisors, and floor workers who belonged to the different groups run by
these individuals.
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 The production crew took sides against the engineers and software group as they were
each represented by their respective leaders. As a result of this confrontation, planning
fell through at a whole company level. There was no plan in sight, no aligned goals, and
no feedback from the top brass. “An organization without a plan is in peril of being seen
as reactive, shortsighted, and rudderless. Planning, then, is an essential ceremony that
organizations stage periodically to maintain legitimacy” (Bolman & Deal, 2021, Ch. 14).
The conflict combined with a lack of coordinated planning resulted in the individual
leaders directing their teams to perform only their tasks and led to a breakdown of
communication and team spirit. The actions of the founders were visible to all employees
and the chaos of the situation can be directly tied to them.

Recommend how you would use organizational symbols for an alternative course of
action regarding your case.

I would start by maintaining rituals such as planning, meetings, and scheduled events.
There is little room for these types of items to get missed or shoved to the side, doing so
creates a void which many negatives can derive from. I think it is important that to the
greatest extent possible, an effort should be given to maintain these functions as if they
are the heartbeat of the organization. Doing so may not be a solution to the problem,
however, it will allow more opportunities for communication to happen, allow a public
floor for issues to be brought up, and make communication more frequent. (Bolman &
Deal, 2021, Ch. 14). By taking steps to allow more opportunities, there is a better chance
than none to alleviate the underlying issues and start working on a solution to the
scenario of the split teams and split goals.

I would also explore the idea of diversity being a competitive advantage. The vast array
of skills and experience brought by individuals in both teams may serve as a competitive
advantage. While the goals are not aligned, the ability to perform work, find creative
solutions, and improve on existing products is still there. Combining the skillsets of
workers on both teams and sharing the knowledge would be a promising start to making
rapid improvements in the product. (Bolman & Deal, 2021, Ch. 13). These improvements
may lead to further investor funding and a financial concern taken off of the company.
The focuses of research and development and production may be improved by combining
knowledge from each other. Feedback from production teams could serve as important
data for research projects and improvements, while new technology being developed
could have multiple unseen uses in the field.

3) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about this frame.

I did not pay much mind to some of the more subtle symbols in organizations before this
module. I understood things like physical symbols such as icons, emblems, clothing, and

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 gestures, but did not think of activities as symbolic. The rituals, meetings, celebrations,
and other events that take place in an organization all serve as symbolic practices that
shape the culture and efficiency of the group as a whole. Before learning about the
symbolic frame, I would most likely have focused more on the structure of the
organization from a foundation standpoint, who and what goes where, and why. I would
not have looked at symbolic structures like meetings and planning as an opportunity for
improvement.

After learning about the symbolic frame, I am more in tune with some of the underlying
practices that go in in organizations and how they affect every aspect of the organization.
A breakdown in symbolic features such as planning and meetings results in chaos and
confusion. (Bolman & Deal, 2021, Ch. 14). Knowing this I can then start to identify
where symbols are missing, being used wrong, or being used correctly to help solve
problems more effectively. Instead of treating the symptoms, I can now start to look at
potential root causes of organizational breakdowns, making me a more well-equipped
leader. Combining this frame with the other frames has started to give me a better lens
through which to review and asses groups from small teams to large organizations.

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 Reference

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
(7th ed.). San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass